The English word trophy is derived from the French word "trophee" and Greek word "tropaion." The Greek word "tropaion" means to rout and the French word "trophee" essentially means spoils of a war. joyeria chile

For the Greek the trophies started from the battlefield. The victorious team made a warrior sort of figure from the arms and standards of the defeated team. This figure was hung to a tree and it was inscribed with battle stories and was dedicated to god and later destroyed as a sacrilege. The Romans built extravagant trophies that consisted of columns and arches on top of a foundation.

Olympics, today, use medals to commemorate the winners. In ancient Greece, Olympic winners were felicitated with a laurel wreath and did not receive trophies.

Originally a trophy was shaped as a chalice and made with a wooden base, a wooden column and a metal figure. But with passing time the trends changed and wood was replaced by marble and the figures are made out of plastic and painted the desired color.

The shapes and sizes of a trophy too have evolved with time. The chalice is still used in several prominent sporting events like the Davis and the Stanley cup, but there are other interesting figurines that are being used like a stylized human for the academy awards or the Oscars and the use of a spaceship for the Hugo awards for science.

The current FIFA world cup trophy is designed by Silvio Gazzaniga and been in commission since 1974. The award depicts two human figures holding the Earth. The current trophy weighs 5 kilos and stands 36.5 centimeters tall. Both the Wimbledon and the FIFA world Cup trophy cannot be won outright, the winners of the tournament get a replica of the trophy.

No matter what the game, the trophy is what keeps the games exciting!